Monthly Update #1

Hello, Friends!

You are receiving this email because you have agreed to support us as we move forward in planting a church in El Paso, Texas, next year.

That’s right! This is Josh Davis with the first monthly email to keep you–our partners–updated as we move forward in the process with Send Network and the North American Mission Board.

The last month has been hectic, as we went to El Paso for our vision trip. This was supposed to be a two-week trip, but it was sadly cut short due to illness. By the time we got home, our son Nathaniel, our youngest daughter Christine, and I were all incredibly ill. I praise God for Patricia, because she drove nearly 13 hours from Little Rock, AR, with no help from me as I slept nearly the entire second day of the ride home.

The trip, though, was a great success, as we were able to meet with several local pastors who were able to give us insight into the culture and needs of El Paso, leading us to thinking that we are probably going to plant the church in the Eastern part of El Paso, in the fast growing area of Horizon City, where there are currently NO churches at all.

When we got home and recovered, we also spent some time thinking and praying about what we are going to name the plant–an important question for us as we wrote our prospectus. As you can tell, we decided on “Borderlands Family Baptist Church,” which incorporates both our values of family integrated worship and historic Baptist distinctives, but also that we will be proclaiming the Gospel of our Lord in “the Borderlands,” which is made up of El Paso, Ciudad Juárez, and the surrounding areas.

Nathaniel did a great job creating a logo for us, taking rambling explanations and concept art that I made using Chat GPT to create something truly special. Incorporated in the logo is a reference to Isaiah 49:6b, which says, “I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” I believe this mission verse will serve us well and guide our decisions when we plant.

We also created a vision statement that will guide us as we begin ministry and will be a benchmark by which we can judge where to spend time and resources once the church is meeting and growing. The vision statement says:

“Borderlands Family Baptist Church exists to cultivate a Christ-centered community where families worship together, disciples are made and multiplied, and churches are planted to reach every generation with the gospel.”

We believe that this vision statement adequately shares our values in a concise form.

Finally, I want to give a quick update on where we are in the process with NAMB and the next steps.

I am incredibly glad to say that we have completed all pre-assessment work and will be attending the NAMB assessment retreat in Wendell, NC (just East of Raleigh) next month. At the retreat (which will be the most intense job interview of our lives), we will spend two days being examined for our fitness as planters.

I would like to mention here that this assessment will not determine if we will plant; rather, it determines whether or not we receive NAMB backing when we plant. We are going to El Paso and will plant regardless, but NAMB backing opens doors to resources and support we would not otherwise receive.

Either way, we ask that you please continue to pray for and with us, especially as we finish writing and compiling our prospectus and begin sending it to the pastors of churches we hope to partner with.

Thank you so much for your support, we love you all!